I’m having a bit of a moment here.
At the end of 2020, in cahoots with author buddies Dylann Crush and Megan Ryder (to whom I am eternally grateful), I dreamed up the Wilders. They became my playmates and favorite imaginary friends for the next two years. And now this series is done, and I have to say goodbye.
It’s hard! I love these characters. And I have loved watching you, dear readers, love these characters. The Wilders are special to me, but most of all because they have made you laugh and cry and write me emails and beg for more. And I have loved every minute of it.
But there is good news, too! As you may have guessed from how we left Hanna at the end of this book, you have not seen the last of her—or Easton, his brothers, and their wives, girlfriends, and kiddos. My next series will feature a whole new family, the Hotts, but a familiar environment—Rush Creek—and many of the characters and secondary characters you have come to love.
I hope you will laugh and cry and write me emails and beg for more of them, too, because that’s why I do this!
One particular reader gets her name in lights this time around. Congratulations and thank you to Tilly Henderson, aka @bookish_spoonie on Instagram, who won a contest in my reader group and named Britney, Hanna’s nemesis. I warned Tilly that Britney might not make it all the way to publication—and her role in the book did get a bit diminished from how I’d originally imagined it—but she stuck it out and made it onto the final pages. Tilly, thank you for playing, and I hope you enjoy seeing Britney’s name in print—and yours!
Thank you so much to my early readers, Dylann Crush, Rachel Grant, Christina Hovland, and Brenda St. John Brown. Thank you for taking time away from your own stories to help make this book the best it could be. Special thanks to Donna Barker, Cathryn Fox, and Elizabeth Safleur, for being my “cold” readers—the ones who tell me whether someone entering the series with this book can make sense of the Wilder muddle.
Huge thanks also to the author friends who support me on a regular basis—Audrey, Cheryl, Dylann, Megan, Christy, Brenda, Christine, Gwen, Rachel, Kate, Kris, Karen, Susannah, Claire, Sylvie, Arell, Hope, and many, many more, including but not limited to the authors of the Corner of Smart and Sexy, RAM Rom Com, the post-RAM Brain Dump, Wide for the Win, Awesome Babes for Good Things, and my ongoing newsletter swaps.
Thank you to my agent, Emily Sylvan Kim, and my sub rights agent, Tina Shen!
Thank you, Sarah Sarai! You have been on this wild, Wilder, wildest journey, too, and it has been a delight to have you at my side for the ride. I have deeply appreciated your attention to detail and willingness to Bear (see what I did there?) with my foibles.
Thank you, XPresso Book Tours, especially Giselle, for the release blitz!
Hugs and kisses for my not-author friends who support my imaginary worlds with so much love and patience: Aimee, Chelsea, Darya, Ellen, Elizabeth, Jenn, Jess, Julia, Kathy, Lauren, Molly, Soomie, and Tracey.
To BellGirl, BellBoy, and Mr. Bell, you are the family that taught me what it feels like to belong, and what it means to find the people who make you feel like you. The Wilders and their wider world owe so much to your love and support. Mr. Bell: Every romance hero is a little bit of you, but none is as real or as kind or as steadfast. I love you all!
Any errors of fact or insensitivity relating to representation are mine and mine alone. If you note any, please let me know so I can apologize and learn to be better.